Hurricane Sandy officially made landfall yesterday evening, October 29, 2012, at 8:00PM EDT near Atlantic City, New Jersey. The images coming in this morning out of the east are devastating. In Queens, at least 80 homes have been burned to the ground after a fire broke out last night. Crews were unable to get to the fires due to flooding and high waters.

Over 7 million people are without power and the cleanup is only beginning. One of those people without power, my dad, who lives in midtown Manhattan, is without power and sent our family a text this morning letting everyone know that he is safe, but due to power loss, his phone was low on battery and he had to shut it off. I got a call from him just in the past 10 minutes and the connection wasn’t great but he says the devastation is unimaginable. He said that cars were pushed all the way inland to 1st avenue from the eastern bay. That is incredible and it speaks volumes to the power of water. My older sister, who lives in Jersey City, had to turn off her cell phone as well, but she is safe. Certainly, her and her roommate took the necessary precautions and filled their bathtub with water and had all of the supplies they needed before Sandy hit.

In addition to the millions without power, the NYC MTA Subway system is almost in ruins. Record high surge and flooding took place in the city of Manhattan. New Jersey, to the west of Manhattan, had very bad flooding. La Guardia Airport, and Newark Airport have reported extensive damage and over 15,000 flights cancelled. Planes flying in from across the Atlantic are all landing in Boston due to the issues at La Guardia and Newark Airport.

Some of my friends from Valparaiso University ventured up to Porter County Beach this morning to see the waves on southern Lake Michigan, and I’ve heard reports of waves up to 25 feet. That’s how far reaching the impacts Superstorm Sandy are.

Now, not only is there a flooding issue, but heavy snowfall fell in the higher elevations of West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina. Up to 3 feet of snow has fallen in these areas. The snow is being compared to the consistency of wet cement. Many have lost power in these areas as well.

I will try and bring another update before I leave for work at 3pm. Until then, once again, stay SAFE and my thoughts and Prayers are with those affected by this storm.

Some photos of flooding courtesy of CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/30/us/gallery/ny-sandy/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

Wow. I don’t even know where to begin. Let me start by saying this: Despite the fact that Hurricane Sandy has transitioned to an extra-tropical cyclone,meaning it has gone from a warm core barotropic cyclone (a cyclone characterized by a lack of fronts) to a cold core baroclinic cyclone (a cyclone characterized by distinct airmasses or fronts), it is still a very powerful storm with life-threatening impacts. This is simply a scientific classification; Sandy is still as strong as it was when it made landfall. However, expect continued weakening over the next 24-36 hours. For more info on that, check out this link: http://www.theweatherprediction.com/habyhints/49/

Onto the impacts: Take this into perspective. The pressure differences between where I am in Bloomington Indiana and where Sandy is, have created wind gusts of up to 50 mph. Waves on Lake Michigan are expected to climb to nearly 25 feet in Porter and Lake County Indiana. This storm is nearly 800 miles away, but its impacts are even being felt in Northern and Central Indiana.

The next thing of note is the countless reports of damage and destruction so far. From the sound of it, New York City has been hit very hard. In the morning, when the sun rises, we will have a better idea of how bad the damage is. And let me say this: It will be very bad. Flooding of the MTA Subway system and throughout lower Manhattan has been historic. Compared to Hurricane Donna of 1960, the crest of the water levels is almost 4 feet higher, shattering the old record of 10 feet. One thing I read about on Twitter this evening, mentioned how social media is affected our ability to relay information much better than we could during Katrina. Katrina was all the way back in 2005, when Facebook was still just a baby. This ability to spread and distribute vital information and news on the current state of damage is very important. It is without a doubt saving lives. Continue to spread word and get any images that you have of damage or flooding, but please do it safely.

Continue to ride this storm out and stay safe. I will have more updates on damage and impacts in the morning. I am sure there will be a lot of information when the sun comes up.

Editor’s Note: Sandy unleashed powerful winds and torrential rains Monday in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast as it sped toward shore. Subways and bridges were shut down and streets were quiet as gusts howled over a huge region encompassing hundreds of miles. At 7 p.m., the National Hurricane Center stopped classifying Sandy as a hurricane, though it still continued to pack a wallop. Here is the full story.

[Updated at 11:55 p.m.] Lisa Greiner, spokeswoman with New York York University’s Langone Medical Center, offers some more details about why the facility is evacuating about 200 patients:

“Due to the severity of Hurricane Sandy and the higher than expected storm surge, we are in the process of transferring approximately 200 patients within the medical center to nearby facilities. We are having]

This afternoon, Hurricane Sandy has a minimum central pressure of 940mb and sustained winds of 90 mph. It has begun it’s northwestward and eventually westward path into southern New Jersey. Over 60 million people will be affected by this storm, and from the reports of damage and flooding coming in out of Atlantic City, this hurricane could be one of the costliest and most devastating hurricanes to make landfall on the eastern seaboard. Sandy will make landfall this evening. Flooding, surge, and hurricane force winds will be the major factors with this storm. If you have not evacuated, please be safe and hunker down for the long haul tonight. This is a dangerous storm. I will be back with updates tonight following the landfall of Hurricane Sandy.

The latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center has this to say about the impacts that Hurricane Sandy poses to the Eastern Seaboard. “Sandy is expected to bring life-threatening storm surge to the Long Island Sound and the Island of Manhattan…Hurricane force winds and coastal flooding is imminent.” Make no mistake, this storm is being hyped quite a bit by the media, but the National Hurricane Center is serious on this situation as well, so taking the necessary actions and precautions is very important. Now is the time to make a decision. If you live in a low-lying coastal area that is prone to storm surge and flooding, You must move to higher ground if you are in these areas.

Without a doubt, Hurricane Sandy is a powerful storm that will certainly pose a threat to life and property. The most important thing here is to stay calm and get prepared for this storm. Landfall is expected late on Monday night and the track of this storm is beginning to narrow in on southern New Jersey/northern Delaware. The wind field of Sandy is very large, so as I mentioned in Part I, the location of landfall is important, but given the size of this storm, impacts will be widespread and felt through the entire upcoming week.

The maximum winds are at 75mph and the storm surge is expected to be up to 10 feet over parts of Long Island Sound and New York Harbor. With Sandy likely making landfall over southern New jersey, that would force the highest surge and waters into New York Harbor. That being said, flooding is likely in Manhattan and low lying areas.

If you are riding this storm out and many people will be, please be prepared for this storm and have a plan. I will have more updates and details as they develop over the next 24 hours. Keep an eye out for more posts on Hurricane Sandy.

Over the next couple of days, I will be writing about Hurricane Sandy and the impacts that will be felt along the entire Eastern Seaboard this weekend and through next week.

The current forecast track takes Sandy’s center into Delaware, but as the storm is still over 36 hours away from landfall, the exact location of landfall remains uncertain. Anywhere between extreme eastern Virginia and the island of Manhattan. Either way, no matter where this system makes landfall, it will be a very large and expansive Hurricane with widespread impacts being felt over much of the Mid-Atlantic and New England states.

With Sandy having churned up waters over the open Atlantic for the past week, very high waves, storm surge, and flooding will be a serious concern before, during, and after landfall. Comparisons are being made to the historic Superstorm of March 1993. The comparisons are certainly warranted, but this storm will not produce the crippling snowfall that the Superstorm did. I will have more on Hurricane Sandy tomorrow.